COVID-19: Return of 1 lakh people poses big challenge

AIZAWL: After a huge surge in COVID-19 cases in the northeastern States caused by the return of around 1,00,000 people from other States, the region is facing a very big quarantine challenge.

In Mizoram, Church leader Esther Lal Ruatkimi said that the State government and churches have so far arranged more than 500 quarantine facilities to accommodate 14,400 people but the State government requires quarantine facilities for at least 20,000 people. Mizoram Chief Secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo on Tuesday reviewed the status and availability of government quarantine facilities in view of the arrival of stranded residents of Mizoram from other parts of the country, which is expected to peak in the next few days. The Chief Secretary stressed the importance of strict home quarantine in the absence of institutional quarantine. With the return of hundreds and thousands of people from southern and western India during the past three weeks, the COVID-19 patients have also increased in Meghalaya, Nagaland and Manipur, besides Assam and Tripura.

Nagaland Health Minister S Pangnyu Phom on Wednesday tweeted that five more returnees from Chennai tested COVID-19 positive. "With this, we have nine active cases in Nagaland. They all are undergoing proper medical treatment at COVID-19 hospitals," the minister said.

In Manipur, three more persons tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of cases in the state to 39, with 35 active cases. Health officials in Imphal said all the people, tested COVID-19 positive, returned to the state during the past three weeks from different parts of India, mostly the southern and western regions of the country. (IANS) 

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